Posts Tagged ‘Derick Brassard’

Milan Michalek could contribute to your Fantasy team. And if not, hey, at least his wife is a hottie.

Honestly, it is incredibly hard to believe but there are only 12 days left in Fantasy hockey for a vast majority of owners. Granted, there are Fantasy postseason sites in existence but the reality is there are few people that dabble in that. This week most of you are so deep into your leagues, that everyone knows everyone’s ideas on what to pick up off the wire. It just gets that much tougher. Nothing comes easy!

Obviously, the goal is winning. While we may sometimes fall short of that quest, hopefully these acquisitions can help you get closer to victory. Is it close to that crucial time? No, it is that time. Let’s get down to business with The Wire Troll.

Milan Michalek, LW, Ottawa Senators: Most had given up on the Fantasy prospects of Michalek, but Daniel Alfredsson certainly helped him feel involved as he fed the winger on a two-on-none situation in Friday’s 2-0 win over New Jersey. Michalek only played 14:47, but with his ATOI over 18 minutes, expect that time to creep up within the week. Also, his goal count probably should wind up higher than his assists. Ottawa has a pretty good schedule conducive to scoring, so don’t be shocked to see a good return on investment with a player only owned in 20-to-25 per cent of all Fantasy leagues.

Derick Brassard, C, New York Rangers: This late in the season, it is often difficult to find guys that may go unnoticed but Brassard may get overlooked because of the presumption of how scoring really works in Gotham. He assisted on one of the biggest goals of the season as Daniel Girardi scored in overtime Saturday on Long Island. The intriguing number for Brassard is 10 — as in the number of special teams points he has provided this season. Fantasy hawks love that number and it really may be worthwhile to take a bit of a fishing expedition to net a guy only owned in 15-to-20 per cent of Fantasy leagues. Give it a shot!

Josh Bailey, LW/C, New York Islanders: Bailey has been pretty hot of late with four goals and three assists in his last seven games. It is strange to say, but that is as hot or hotter than John Tavares. It’s probably because Bailey’s line has been better with Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo stepping up their games. This is a familiar scenario as in each of the last two seasons this line combination has heated up for the last couple weeks of the regular season then fizzle when the next season begins. However, now the stakes are higher so the numbers are noticed more. Get in quick while you can.

Keeper League Recommendations

Alex Chiasson, LW, Dallas Stars: Chiasson is on fire! The rookie has six goals in six games while playing some top line minutes with the Stars. We knew there was upside, but we don’t think anyone saw this coming. When you talk about reasons why Dallas is still in the playoff hunt, Chiasson is near the top of the list. Let’s face it: having Loui Eriksson along with Jamie Benn on your line cannot hurt your bottom line. While the pace may not continue, Chiasson has upside and the low ownership rate will not last too long.

Beau Bennett, LW, Pittsburgh Penguins: Bennett ended up in Pittsburgh and was raring to go. He has 12 points in 22 games while seeing basically around 12 minutes a night. There is the occasional trip to top six and power play land which increases his Fantasy intrigue. As Bennett rounds out his game, the winger does at least provide a couple points a week which helps the bottom line. Something tells us that next season his minutes will be bumped up a bit as his game becomes more complete. Bennett is a keeper whose ownership rate is less than 10 per cent everywhere. The upside is too good to pass up.

That is it for now. There are only a couple editions left of the NHL version of The Wire Troll. As always, you can follow me @ChrisWasselTHW and do not hold back. Needless to say, it is crunch time so fire away!

Derick Brassard headlines a great crop of Blue Jacket rooks, but unfortunately a shoulder injury will keep him out for the rest of the season.
While it’s officially past the halfway point of the schedule, the All-Star break is the symbolic tipping point NHL year. Let’s take a look back and a look ahead at what’s [...]